Weekend Preview: No. 1 Tennessee @ Kentucky

No. 1 Tennessee (41-4, 19-2 SEC) travels north to Lexington this weekend to face Kentucky (24-20, 7-14 SEC) in a three-game series beginning on Thursday night.

The Vols enter the series in Lexington coming off a series win over No. 19 Auburn. They've won 12 consecutive series, including nine straight against SEC opponents, dating back to last season. Of their 10 weekend series wins this season, eight have been sweeps.

Kentucky is coming off a series loss to Florida in Gainesville. The Cats have won just one SEC series this season and have lost five consecutive series against conference opponents.

Here's everything you need to know to get ready for this weekend's series between the Vols and Cats.

Where Tennessee baseball is ranked in the polls this week

Perfect Game: No. 1 (-)

Collegiate Baseball: No. 1 (-)

NCBWA: No. 1 (-)

USA Today Coaches Poll: No. 1 (-)

D1Baseball: No. 1 (-)

Baseball America: No. 1 (-)

Schedule (TV)

Thursday, May 5: @ Kentucky, 7 p.m. ET (SEC Network)

Friday, May 6: @ Kentucky, 6:30 p.m. ET (SEC Network+)

Saturday, May 7: @ Kentucky, 2 p.m. ET (SEC Network+)

Projected weekend rotation

Game 1: Fr. RHP Chase Burns (7-1, 2.09 ERA) vs. TBA

Game 2: So. RHP Blade Tidwell (1-0, 1.93 ERA) vs. TBA

Game 3: Fr. RHP Drew Beam (8-0, 2.14 ERA) vs. Gr. RHP Sean Harney (5-3, 2.82 ERA)

Storylines to watch

Can the Vols clinch an SEC East title?

Tennessee can clinch an SEC East title if it can sweep Kentucky this weekend.

At 19-2 in SEC play, the Vols currently sit in first place in the East, seven games ahead of second-place Georgia with nine conference games remaining. A sweep would claim back-to-back division titles for the first time since the 1994 and 1995 Vols did so.

What does Chase Dollander's roll look like?

Chase Dollander returned to action on Tuesday night in Tennessee’s 14-1 win over Alabama A&M two and a half weeks after his pitching elbow was struck by a line drive against Alabama.

Dollander missed 17 days as he dealt with swelling and soreness, but it was far better than the alternative, a fracture or break, which was initially feared by Tennessee.

The goal for Dollander in his return was simple. Get two outs in 10 or less pitches. He did exactly that, doing so on nine pitches with a line out and a strikeout.

Dollander won't start this weekend, but it's likely he pitches three, four or five innings out of the bullpen. With Blade Tidwell also working back from injury, it wouldn't be surprising to see Dollander piggyback Tidwell.

Keys to a series win for the Vols

Will Kentucky run on Tennessee?

There's not much that Kentucky does well that will keep Tony Vitello and his coaching staff up at night heading into the series.

One of the few things the Cats do well is steal bases. On the flip side, really the only thing the Vols don't do well is limit base-stealers.

Kentucky leads the SEC in stolen bases (22) during conference play and has only been caught stealing once despite the four-most attempts (23). Ironically enough, the Vols and Cats are tied for the most stolen bases allowed (22) this season.

Although Kentucky can steal bases, it rarely puts runners on base to do so. The Cats are 11th in the SEC in batting average (.245), 12th in hits (177) and 13th in on base percentage (.324).

Just put the ball in play

Kentucky boasts the worst defense in the SEC. The Cats are dead last in fielding percentage as they've committed the second-most errors (24) during conference play.

Tennessee has the best offense in the country, yet all it needs to do is go back to its roots of little league baseball. Just put the ball in play, put pressure on the defense and it'll be perfectly fine.

Kentucky (24-20, 7-14 SEC) Scouting Report:

Series wins: @ Jacksonville State (sweep); vs. Western Michigan (sweep); vs. TCU; vs. High Point (sweep); vs. Georgia

Series losses: @ Arkansas (sweep); vs. Ole Miss; @ Texas A&M; @ Missouri; vs. Vanderbilt; @ Florida

Stat Leaders:

Batting Avg: Daniel Harris IV (.324)

Runs: Chase Estep (47)

Hits: Chase Estep (53)

Home Runs: Estep/Plastiak (12)

RBI: Jacob Plastiak (40)

Stolen Bases: Chase Estep (13)

Wins: Sean Harney (5)

Saves: Tyler Guilfoil (4)